Car construction.



No. 822,474. PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906. A. PORTER.

UAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 3,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

g fiiamzz afiri t Witnesses nven or. W l by Q W I Attorneys No. 822.474.PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906. A. PORTER.

CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1906.

Witnesses Inventor.

Attorneys ALAMANZA PORTER, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application filed July 3, 1905. Serial No. 268,126.

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALAMANZA PORTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car Construction, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to construction of cars, especially forstreet-railway use, and it has particular reference to what aregenerally known as summer-cars, in which the seats are constructedtransversely of the car-body, the object of the invention being toprovide improved means for inclosing the sides of the car to protect theoccupants of the car in wet and inclement weather, the nature of theimprovement being such that by the use thereof a summer-car may bepractically transformed into a closed or winter car.

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as thenature of the inventionis better understood, the same consists in theimproved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts,which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferredform of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitationis necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited,but that the right is reserved to any changes, alterations, andmodifications to which recourse may be had within the scope of theinvention and without departing from the spirit or sacrificing thee'l'liciency of the same.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a car equipped with theimproved closures, the same being shown in operative position. Fig. 2is' a perspective View of one end of a car, showing the closures in theposition where they are stored when not in use. Fig. 3 is a horizontalsectional detail view. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectionaldetail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. 3. Fig.5 is a vertical transverse sectional detail view taken on the planeindicated by the line 5 5 in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail viewshowing the pivotal supporting means for the closures of the device.Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional detail view illustrating amodification. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail View illustrating anothermodification. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail View taken on the line 9 9 ofFig. 4.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout bysimilar characters of reference.

This invention is applicable to most, if not all, of the various formsof open or summer cars now in use, and the drawings illustrate aconventional car-body including the floor 1, platform 2, and uprights 3,supporting the roof 4. Only one side of the car has been shown, it beingunderstood, of course, that the other side is an exact duplicate.

At the outer edge of the floor is laid a track 5, a mate to which, 6, issupported under the roof near the outer edge of the latter. The tracks 5and 6 are provided with T-grooves 7, in which supporting-blocks S aremounted for sliding movement, said supporting-blocks comprising innerand outer members 8 and 9, preferably rectangular in shape and connectedby a shank 10, the latter fitting between the flanges 11 of the rails,while the inner blocks 8 move in the widened portions of the T-grooves.The outer members of the supporting-blocks are provided With cylindricalrecesses or bores 12, extending into the shanks 10 or through thesupporting-blocks, if preferred.

The rails of the tracks 5 are laid flush with the floor of the car andare extended for some distance along the edges of the platforms, wherethey are provided in their inner edges with notches 13, communicatingwith grooves 14 of similarly-constructed track-rails 15, laid upon theplatform transversely of the carbody. It is obvious that thesupportingblocks may be very readily removed from the main tracks intoengagement with the auxiliary track-rails 15.

Closures 16, resembling doors, are rovided, each of said closures beingprovided near one edge and at its upper and lower corners with pintles17, engaging the bores 12 of a pair of the supporting-blocks S, movable,respectively, in the lower and upper tracks. The said doors areobviously made of suitable height to fit between the lower and uppertrack, and they are preferably made. of a weight approximately equal tothe distance from center to center of the uprights 3, thus formingcomplete closures for the open spaces adjacent to the ends of thecar-seats, which latter are shown at 18. The doors or closures areprovided near their free edges with track-engaging rollers 19, which areof a width exceeding the width of the grooves in the track-rails, sothat said free edges of the doors may be readily swung outward for thepurpose of enabling passengers to enter the car or descend from thesame. Locking or latching mechanism may be provided; but it has not beenshown, not forming a part of the present invention.

Each of the doors or closures may be provided with a transparent pane 20and with any other suitable and appropriate finish.

The doors or closures when not in use may be stored upon the side trackslocated on the platforms. When desired for use, the said doors are movedijoutward until the supporting-blocks engage the main-track rails, alongwhich they may be moved to the desired position. It is obvious thatwithin the scope of the invention all the doors belonging to one side ofthe car may be stored u on one end platform, or they may be divic edbetween the two platforms usually found at the ends of the car.

Under the modification illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings no sidetracks are provided; but the main-track rails are provided with inturnedends, one of which is shown at 21. When this construction is resortedto, the doors or closures may be simply swung around the curve, as shownin Fi 7, and disposed upon the platform longitu inally upon the body ofthe car.

Under another modification (illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawings) eachof the doors or closures (here designated 16*) is hingedly mounted in aframe 22, having track-engaging supporting-blocks (here designated S) attheir upper inner corners. Under this modification the frames 22 whenadjusted in position may be secured by any suitable means,

' so that the doors may be operated independently thereof.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which it ap ertains.The construction is extremely simp e, and the device is capable of beingreadily applied to summer-cars of ordinary construction, it be ingunderstood, of course, that such changes and modifications in the shape,size, and proportions of the closures as may be found nec- I essary toadapt them'to various types of cars are to be considered as being withinthe scope of the invention.

5 is claimed is- 1. Upper and lower longitudinal tracks,

and door-sections supported for slidable and pivotal movement betweensaid tracks and provided near their free edges with trackengaging rotarymembers.

2. Longitudinal upper and lower tracks having T-grooves,supporting-blocks slidably engaging said grooves, and door-sectionspivotally connected with said supportingblocks.

3. Longitudinal, grooved upper and lower tracks, grooved side tracksdiverging therefrom and communicating with the main tracks throughnotches in the sides of the latter, supporting members engaging thegrooves of the tracks, and door-sections having pintles en aging saidsupporting members.

4. pper and lower longitudinal tracks having T-grooves, supportingmembers engaging said rooves and comprising inner and outer mem ershaving connecting-shanks and provided with recesses or bearings,doorsections movable between the surfaces of the tracks and havingpintles engaging the bearings in the supporting members, andtrackengaging rollers near the free edges of the door-sections.

5. In a street-car, longitudinally-disposed upper and lower trackshaving grooves therein, divergent track members upon the platforms ofthe car, and a plurality of door-sections mounted slidably and pivotallybetween the main track-sections and supported for storage upon thedivergent track-sections. 1

6. The combination with a street-car having upper and lowertrack-sections, of doorsections, and supporting sections or frameshingedly connected therewith, said sections or frames being slidablysupported between the upper and lower track-sections.

7. In a street-car, a movably-supported frame, and a door-sectionhingedly supported in said frame to swing upon an approximately verticalaxis.

8. Upper and lower track-rails, a frame supported for slidable andswinging movement between said rails, and a door-section hingedlysupported in said frame.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

I ALAMANZA PORTER. Witnesses.

'W. W. BAYLOR,

H. S. KELLER

